Detroit Venture Partners wants its portfolio companies to move their operations to the heart of Detroit in the hopes of transforming the Motor City into a vibrant startup community like Boston and San Francisco, according to Xconomy Detroit.

Delphinus Medical Technologies Inc. has received $8 million in funding commitments to further develop an ultrasonic breast cancer detection device that could become an alternative to mammograms.The funding means that Delphinus can finally begin the process of commercializing its SoftVue device, which has undergone about 10 years of research and development.Unlike mammography, which is traditionally [...]

The number of Midwest health care startups receiving investments could set a record this year. However, the startups reported winning far fewer dollars in the first nine months of the year than in either 2008 or 2007.

Among the items up for discussion: combining the research efforts at both institutions with an emphasis on translational research, and adding a new research center in TechTown, Wayne State’s research and technology park. Wayne State received $115 million in grants last year and does strong research in areas of pediatric medicine and oncology, among others.

The Detroit Science Center will this fall include the clinical-trials process in its new health-care exhibit. It’s created through a $100,000 National Institutes of Health grant and efforts at the University of Michigan Health System to increase the participation in trials. But can informed consent be fun?